Fruit for dessert has got to be good for you, right? Maybe not when it’s combined with lashings of caramel sauce and delicious ice cream. Another street food special, this recipe is one for the kids — they LOVE it.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 6 small bananas
- coconut ice cream to serve
Batter
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- ½ cup sesame seeds
- ½ tsp salt
Salty Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 90 g salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- ½ cup cream
- ½ tsp salt
MAKE IT
- Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer to 190°C.
- Peel and slice each banana lengthwise, then in half.
- Combine all the batter ingredients and stir until just mixed together.
- Dip each piece of banana into the batter and deepfry until golden brown.
- Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels for a few seconds.
- Serve straight away with coconut ice cream and caramel sauce.
Salty Caramel Sauce
- Place the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook, without stirring, until it becomes a thick ambercoloured liquid. Don’t let it burn.
- When the sugar has melted, immediately add the butter — be careful as the caramel will bubble rapidly. Stir the butter into the caramel until completely melted, about 2–3 minutes.
- Drizzle in the cream very slowly while stirring. Again be careful as the mixture will rapidly bubble. Boil the mixture for one minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Cool before using.
- This caramel will last a week in an airtight container.
TIP — Make it a picnic recipe:
Simply repace the ice cream with yoghurt and wait with serving until you get there.
// Serves: 4–6
// Prep time: 10mins. Cook time: 20mins.
Recipe extracted from Chop Chop by Brett McGregor, published by Random House NZ, RRP: $45.00.
Photography: Jae Frew.
